The Souls in the Fool's Night
by Empanada de Pizza
Summary: After a camping trip goes horribly wrong, the cul-de-sac group now must figure out who is after them, and what Rolf means when he talks about the "creatures of the change". KevEdd
1. Lost Like This

I've done it! After four days, I've finally finished chapter one of my KevEdd story. I'm super excited about this one, cause it's in a genre that I'm not familiar with writing. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: Ed, Edd n Eddy belongs to Danny Antonucci.**

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Kevin was pissed.

It was raining. They were stuck in the middle of a goddamn forest miles from the cul-de-sac. It was getting cooler outside. He had a flat tire.

He had no idea where Edd's car was.

He couldn't remember how his dork had managed to get every single kid from the cul-de-sac to agree to a camping trip right after their returning home from their first year away at college. But if anyone could pull it off effectively, it was Edd. And that's exactly what he did.

Kevin remembered the chain of events as he made his way away from his car, flashlight in hand. He began walking towards he last saw Edd's car. Edd had mentioned to Ed and Eddy his wishes to take a camping trip before he departed for college. Of course they both agree immediately. The only stipulation for Ed was if he wanted to go, Sarah had to go as well. Despite being closer as siblings than they were as children, Sarah was still the preferred child. And everyone knew it. If Sarah went, Jimmy wouldn't be left behind, either.

Kevin was going because Edd was going. After a series of events (which were mostly Eddy's fault, as per the norm) that led to a pair of broken legs and other various injuries in their sophomore year, the two wound up spending a great deal of time together during the recovery process. The acquaintanceship grew to respect. The respect grew into friendship. And the friendship grew into love. They'd been inseparable since summer between sophomore and junior year.

Kevin managed to convince Rolf and Nazz to join. Rolf was thrilled to be sleeping in the outdoors with friends, as it was something he'd done back home. Nazz took some convincing, being to complete opposite of Rolf, and not being much a fan of nature and its entire splendor.

The only one who couldn't make the trip was Jonny, as he and his family always went away for two weeks from the day school ended.

"Ew!" Kevin didn't bother looking back at Nazz. As they were driving to the spot Edd had marked on the map, something had run out in front of Kevin's father's van, which held himself, Rolf, Nazz, Sarah and Jimmy. Kevin had managed to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting it, but still blew a tire. Behind him, Edd was driving his own car, with the other two Eds as company. After he'd slammed the brakes, he could hear a squeal coming from behind him. It was quickly blocked by the startled sounds coming from his friends.

And Edd's car was nowhere to be seen.

"Ed!" Sarah called out. She and Jimmy were following Kevin. Rolf had agreed to stay with Nazz and keep an eye on the van.

"Sarah! Bad!" Ed's loud voice answered somewhere to the right of where the trio were. Kevin flashed the light in the direction of where he'd heard the voice calling from. But still they couldn't see anything. They all stopped walking as they heard hurried footsteps making their way towards them.

"C'mon Lumpy! I see a light!" Eddy was heard saying, gasping.

"No, Eddy! Don't go towards the light!" Ed replied.

As the footsteps got closer, Kevin couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of a certain voice. Panic gripped him the longer the Eds were out of sight.

A sudden flash of yellow caught Kevin's eye. It was Eddy's shirt. The shortest of the Eds was running quickly. As he neared Kevin, Sarah and Jimmy, he slowed to a jog, before leaning over, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Where the hell is my brother?" Sarah demanded, looking as concerned as Kevin had ever seen her. Ed's whereabouts were almost inconsequential to the redhead at the moment, though.

"Eddy, where's Double D?" he asked, his voice finally returning to him. Eddy waved a hand behind him as he tried to take in deep gulps of breath.

"Sarah!" Ed finally made it to where they all were. There was a slight cut on his brow, and his glasses were askew, but he otherwise looked fine. Shaken up, but fine. Eddy had the same appearance, looking slightly paler than normal with a few minor bruises, but fine. It was Edd who didn't look fine.

Edd was behind carried bridal style in Ed's arms, blood leaking from what appeared to be several wounds, including a large gash on his forehead. He had a dazed look on his face, but otherwise seemed to be alert.

There was just so much blood.

Ed and Edd both looked at him, the former in concern, the latter in relief. Ed walked up to Kevin, holding Edd gently but firmly. Edd was trying to make his way out of Ed's arms. "Kevin, bad. Double D's hurt."

"Shit," Kevin muttered.

Edd smiled smirk up at his friend, then turned that smile to Kevin. "I'm fine, I promise. The impact of the collision cause several pieces of glass to shatter. The worse is from the wound on my abdomen from the shard that embedded itself. And head wounds have a tendency to bleed more because there are more…"

Edd didn't get to finish his sentence as Kevin pulled him from Ed's arms into his own. He moaned in pain as he felt his weight being shifted from the taller Ed to the shorter Kevin. Under normal circumstances, Edd would typically prefer not to be carried and manhandled, but the pain coming from where there had been a piece of glass in his stomach made it so he didn't really mind not having to stand on his own two feet. Kevin placed a kiss on his temple, and just stayed there. Edd wrapped his arms around Kevin, sagging slightly as he felt the adrenaline of the night ebbing from him.

"I was so worried when I couldn't see your car," Kevin murmured against Edd's temple. He pulled away, frowning at the sight of all the blood. "Why are you so hurt and those dorks," he pointed to Eddy, who was sitting on the ground still gasping for breath, and Ed who was being looked over by Sarah, "barely have any marks on 'em?"

Edd shifted nervously in Kevin's arms. "I may have steered the vehicle in such a manner that any impact with the oncoming trees would have had less of an impact on the passengers than on the driver."

Kevin groaned. Of course he did. "Fucking dork…" Edd smiled softly at him. He turned to the others. "Rolf and Nazz are waiting by my car. It's too dark to try and salvage yours, so we'll have to wait until morning. I've got a first aid kit, too. We're gonna need to stop the bleeding."

They all began the trek to Kevin's van, Jimmy holding the flashlight as Kevin's arms were full. Despite being as careful as possible, Kevin could make out the slight winces on Edd's face and the pressure he placed on his stomach as they walked through the trees.

They were all quiet until they spotted Rolf busy building a fire in the makeshift campsite. Nazz was the one who saw them first, and immediately jumped from the van to greet them.

Nazz ran over to Kevin, looking over Edd in concern. "Oh my god, what happened to you guys?"

Edd opened his mouth to speak. Eddy beat him to it. "We crashed."

"Double D was sleeping after the crash," Ed added. "We had to wake him up before we could pull him out of the car." All eyes were suddenly on Edd, and he was growing more uncomfortable being the center of attention.

Nazz looked at the Eds, taking in their appearances. Eddy seemed to be the one with the least amount of injuries, although there was some slight bruising on his face. "Well then, where's your car?"

"It's still nestled against the tree that decided to embrace it," Edd said, looking slightly annoyed. Gingerly, Kevin set him down in the van. "I should have been more careful, and paid more attention to watch I was doing."

Eddy snorted. "Shove it, Sockhead. The reason we're not 'nestled against a tree' is cause you were careful. We should be dead, but we're fine cause you had to play victim."

Edd looked admonished. He crossed his arms over his chest, but quickly undid the move and winced. "I wasn't playing 'victim', Eddy. I was making sure you weren't hurt! And Kevin, you could have at least placed a towel or something down! Blood stains!" Kevin was in the back of the van, moving things around looking for the first aid kit. He grabbed a small towel from the floor and threw it to the front where Edd sat. Looking at the dirty towel, Edd didn't even bother picking it up.

"Why are you fighting about this?" Eddy asked. "I think that blow to the head did something to your brain. What happened happened and nobody died. I would've thought you'd be happy about that."

Rolf walked away from the fire, straight for Edd. He leaned in, nearly pressing his face against Edd's, as Edd tried to cautiously lean away from him without aggravating his wounds. "Double the Ed boy," Rolf said, looking directly into Edd's eyes. He really had no sense of personal space. "You carry the multiple wounds of a sheep after battle with the warthog." What? "Cease this active refusal of assistance and allow for Casanova-Kevin boy to dress you with the sashes of healing. Or Rolf will do it for you." Rolf patted Edd's head none too gently, nodded once, and then swiftly turned back to the fire. "Come, Giant-Ed boy, assist Rolf with provisions."

Ed shrugged, going over to Rolf. "Ok!" Rolf began directing Ed to pick up rocks and dried mulch for the fire. The pile got bigger as the two set the items aside for later.

Kevin eventually pulled out the first aid kit that Edd had packed prior to their leaving. Climbing out from the back of the van, he made his way to Edd, who was leaning back, a discomforted look on his face. He had a hand on his stomach. Both his hand and shirt were also covered in a blood.

"Jesus, Dee," Kevin sighed, beginning to take various things out of the kit, "just how bad was that crash?"

Edd opened his eyes, blinking quickly. "It was bad enough." He gingerly sat up, taking the proffered peroxide and wipes. He lifted his shirt carefully, revealing a deep bruise and a small shard of glass still embedded in his stomach. Kevin flinched at the sight. Edd smiles oddly. "The most interesting thing is that I can feel the bruise, but not the glass."

Kevin stares at him. "That's not good. Why don't you just pull it out?"

Shaking his head, Edd cleans around the glass. "That would be a bad idea. The shard is sizeable enough that it could do much more damage if I were to pull it out." He frowned. "At least the bleeding stopped…"

Kevin just watched in silence as Edd cleaned and dressed his wounds. When he was finished, he put everything back into the kit, closed it and handed it over to Kevin. Sarah appeared behind Kevin, taking a few bandages, before making her way over to Ed.

Eddy and Nazz were sitting near the fire. "I can't get any signal on my phone, so we can't even call for help." Eddy was glowering at his own phone. Rolf scoffed, standing up.

"We do not need portable telephones to survive! We shall make do like Rolf's Nana when she fought the bears that tried to eat her cows! Come, simple Nazz-girl! We shall find the food of the ground for forage!" Rolf quickly grabbed Nazz's hand and pulled her to her feet.

Kevin tossed Rolf the flashlight. "At least take the damn flashlight if you insist on getting yourself lost." Rolf caught it with one hand, saluted, and pulled Nazz into the forest.

"Dammit, Ed! Let me at least _see_ the cut!" Sarah cried. Ed was struggling under his sister, who sat atop his chest trying to affix yet another bandage on Ed's face.

"But Sarah! Double D needs them more!"

Edd looked up from where he was in the van to his name being called. "Double D has already been taken care of, Ed. Let Sarah assist you."

With an annoyed look that was rare for him, Ed allowed Sarah to remove his glasses and place the final bandage on the cut above his eyebrow. Eddy chuckled, peering down at him.

"Looks like Sarah is trying to mummify ya, Lumpy."

"No!" Ed grabbed his glasses, jumping up and running away from Sarah to hide behind the van. Edd could see the top of his head popping up from behind the driver side window. He giggled, shaking his head. Sarah picked herself up, pulling things from her hair and glaring at Eddy. Eddy was bent over, laughing.

"You are such an asshole!" Sarah yelled, stomping over to Jimmy. Eddy only laughed harder.

His laughter stopped immediately when they heard a scream coming from the direction Rolf and Nazz had gone. Jimmy and Sarah grabbed one another, looking in the direction of the scream. Edd sat up, and gasped in pain as he tried to jump out of the van, only for Kevin to push him back in.

"Stay there!" Kevin practically growled at him. Ed ran around to the other side of the van. A second scream, this one more anguished than the first caught their attention. Grabbing his flashlight, Kevin ran towards the trees. "Come on, Ed!" Looking determined, Ed quickly followed Kevin, and the two ran after their friends.

"Both of you be careful!" Edd cried out, watching their retreating figures. Damn these injuries! A carefully as he could, Edd climbed around the van, making his way to the back. Eddy caught the moment and rushed over.

"What the hell are you doing, Double D?"

Edd pulled the first aid kit towards him. "I fear we're going to need to use this."

"Do you think they're going to be hurt too bad, Double D?" Jimmy asked from buried against Sarah's shoulder. Older he may be, but certain anxieties never quite left the younger boy. Edd offered him a gently, albeit sad, smile. He didn't enjoy having to lie to people to comfort them.

"I believe so, Jimmy. I just want to make certain that all of our bases are covered, just in case."

Jimmy nodded. Sarah mouthed "thank you" to Edd, wrapping her arm tighter around him and staring into the fire. Eddy just paced in front of the van.

They all jumped when they heard hurried footsteps coming nearer. Ed appeared from the trees, a blood covered Nazz in his arms.

"Oh geez!" Jimmy cried, a hand covering his mouth. Sarah could only stare in shock.

Edd motioned quickly towards the tallest Ed. "Ed, bring her here!"

Ed ran to the van, lying Nazz down. Within seconds, Edd had a pair of gloves on, and was cleaning any and all blood from the blonde.

Eddy turned to Ed, who bounced nervously. "Ed, where are Kevin and Rolf?"

"Kevin told me to grab Nazz. Rolf is hurt, but Nazz was hurt more."

While this put Edd's mind slightly at ease, he couldn't help but still feel nervousness at the glaring fact that the duo had yet to return. The strange cuts on Nazz were also bothering him. He pushed those thoughts aside, focusing more cleaning Nazz. He'd inspect the wounds later.

Ed grabbed Eddy by the shoulders, shaking him. "Eddy! There was something trying to eat us out there!"

"Trying to _eat_ you?"

Ed nodded, still squeezing Eddy. "It looked like a lady, but I couldn't see cause it was moving so fast! It was biting Nazz, and then it knocked over Rolf, and then when Kevin tried to hit it with a stick, it knocked him over, too!"

Edd looked at Nazz's arm. That would explain the marks.

"Ed," Edd asked, "did you get hurt?"

Ed shook his head. "No. Kevin told me to grab Nazz and run, so I did."

"…I insist you let Rolf go so I may go back and slay the demon of the change!" Rolf's voice cried. Both he and Kevin appeared, and they too, were in the condition Nazz was in. Kevin had Rolf's arm over his shoulder helping him walk, as Rolf was weakly trying to pull away. Kevin and Rolf made their way to the van.

Edd moaned in concern, pulling off the gloves. He had finished putting on a fresh pair. Looking up, he could see they both looked slightly paler, which was strange seeing Rolf look so pale. Like Nazz, they were both covered in scratched, and what appeared to be bite marks. And just like Nazz, they had blood all over their faces and mouths.

Edd's brows furrowed in confusion at that.

Quickly, he set to work, cleaning and bandaging Rolf first. He would have to switch gloves when he began to work on Kevin.

"How is Nazz doing?" Kevin asked, watching Edd work.

Without looking up, the smartest of the Eds replied. "She's fine. It appears that she merely collapsed out of fear. Her wounds aren't as bad as they seem."

Kevin nodded. "Good." He made a disgusted face before turning and spitting blood. "Whatever that thing out there was, it seemed really eager to shove it's bloody hands in my mouth."

He glanced over to Ed who was now seated by the fire. "Hey Ed." Ed looked up, his mouth a thin line. "Good job getting Nazz out of there so quickly, man." Ed just nodded. He would have normally been thrilled to have been acknowledged so positively. Obviously, the night's events were beginning to catch up with him.

Edd eventually finished with Rolf. He jumped out of the van, muttering curses under his breath, before plopping himself next to Ed by the fire. He still wasn't too happy with Kevin pulling him away from the fight.

Nazz suddenly gasped and sat up, surprising everyone. She looked around quickly, before breaking out in a smile. She threw her arms around Edd's middle, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Oh, I'm so glad!" she kept saying over and over.

"N-nazz," Edd wheezed. "Please l-let me go!" She was unknowingly pushing the shard deeper into his skin. The pain was becoming too much for him now that all the excitement was ending. Realizing her mistake, she quickly let him go, blushing. She looked at her hand, noticing the blood.

"Oh, Double D! Dude, I'm so sorry!" she cried. Edd waved off the apology.

"It's quite alright," he said faintly, putting a hand to his stomach. Obviously the bandages weren't strong enough to staunch the bleeding.

Without realizing it, Nazz brought her blood covered hand to her mouth, licking Edd's blood from her fingers. Everyone stared at her in shock. She yelped pulling her hand away.

"…the fuck was that, Nazz?!" Eddy cried out, his eyes wide.

"I-I don't know! It just…happened!" she replied, staring at the blood now beginning to seep through Edd's shirt.

Edd, for his part, was no longer paying attention. His focus was wasn't as sharp as it was just a few minutes ago.

"Double D?" he heard someone call out.

"Hmm?"

"Shit." That was Kevin, of this Edd was sure. "You need to eat something, Edd."

"N-no. I need to finish this." He motioned to the kit. Kevin pushed it away. "You took care of everyone already. You're bleeding again." Ed leaned on him, looking for warmth. He frowned when he felt how cold Kevin actually felt.

"I think he lost too much blood," Jimmy offered. Kevin shot him a glare.

"Well," Sarah began, lifting her hand to start counting, "we've managed to lose a car, our resident genius is indisposed, Nazz has a blood fetish, we're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no means of communication, and! To top it all off, there are creatures out in the forest who seem to want to eat us! Great fucking idea, Double D! '_Let's go on a camping trip.'_"

Edd frowned at Sarah's mocking voice. "You are highly negative for someone who practically blackmailed her way into a trip." Kevin laughed and Eddy snorted. Sarah huffed, punching Jimmy in the shoulder when he giggled.

"Owie."

"Shut up, Jimmy."

"It didn't like light," Ed said suddenly. He pulled Sarah and Jimmy closer to the fire. "It _didn't like light._"

"Ok, Ed, geez," Sarah said. "It didn't like light."

Rolf leaned against the van. "The creature of the change did attack Rolf when he flashed his light to save Nazz-girl."

Kevin shrugged. "So then we just stay here until morning. If that thing tries to come here, just grab a branch, set it on fire and burn the fucker."

"Language," Edd muttered. He closed his eyes, allowing Kevin's hand rubbing his side to soothe him. They weren't going to go anywhere. Not this late, with half of the group injured and only one vehicle available.

Kevin frowned, looking down at Edd. It was a shame they were stuck there. He really looked like he could do with a warm bath.

Eddy opened the back of the van, pulling out what few blankets they had. When they were packing, it seemed like a good idea to split the supplies between the two vehicles. Now that they found themselves in this situation, it didn't seem like such a good idea. While most of the clothing and blankets were in Kevin's van, most of the food was in Edd's car. Eddy shook his head in annoyance. Hindsight wasn't just 20/20. It was a bitch, too.

"Well, it looks like we're camping here for tonight," he said, throwing blankets at everyone. "I think you guys should sleep in there," he pointed to Nazz, Kevin, Rolf and Edd," since you're all bleeding and shit."

Nazz nodded, staring at her hand. Rolf shook his head. "Rolf will stay awake to prevent the creature of the change from attacking Rolf's friends again. If it brings its face around here, Rolf will make it so justice will be swift and fast!"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever, Rolf," Eddy said. He gave the last blanket to Kevin. "Make sure he gets covered. He's too scrawny, and I don't want him kicking the bucket overnight because he bled and froze himself to death."

Kevin glared at him, snatching the blanket. "Thank you for that, dick." Eddy smirked, before heading towards the fire. Kevin unfolded the blanket, wrapping it tightly around Edd. He didn't feel cold, and he knew that Edd was prone to sickness more easily as he was, in Eddy's words "too scrawny".

He lay Edd down in the backseat of the van. Nazz was curled up in the front, but was still contemplating her hand. He took a look around the makeshift campsite. Eddy was already wrapped up and snoring. Jimmy and Sarah happened to play it smart, using one's blanket to cover the ground and the other to cover themselves. Ed wasn't sleeping at all as he kept a watchful eye on his sister.

Kevin wasn't sure if this was to protect her from whatever was out there, or from Jimmy. He chuckled at that.

Rolf was still leaning against the van, his face locked in a dark frown. This "creature of the change" thing seem to really sit badly with the foreigner, and he was determined to make sure that what happened a while ago didn't happen again.

Kevin groaned. What a fucking night. Everyone was accounted for, but not in one piece. Sitting himself on the floor, he watched Edd sleep. He looked paler than usual thanks to the blood loss. And forcing himself to move around with his injuries as bad as they were obviously hadn't helped anything.

Edd shifted and groaned in his sleep. Kevin raised his hand to comfort him, when he noticed the blood. It was from when he was rubbing Edd's side. He sighed. He hoped that he did stop bleeding. And that the wound didn't become infected. He trusted Edd when it came to almost all things medical. For fuck's sake, his father was the Chief of Medicine at a major hospital and his mother was a cardiac surgeon. But even with his vast knowledge, he still had a piece of glass jammed in his stomach.

Without realizing it, Kevin, just as Nazz had done, began to suck Edd's blood from his fingers. His reaction was different from Nazz's, though. His eyes closed in ecstasy as he let out a quiet moan. This was not normal, he knew that logically. But something about Edd's blood in his mouth felt extremely pleasurable. Almost…_sexual_.

These thoughts caused Kevin to stand up quickly and pull his hand out of his mouth. He cursed as he banged his head on the roof of the van. He jumped out, landing in an ungraceful pile at Rolf's feet.

"Casanova-Kevin boy?" Rolf asked in concern.

Kevin picked himself up. His heart was pounding. It almost seemed like his vision had heightened. Taking in a deep breath, he looked at Rolf. "Something's not right."

Kevin wasn't pissed anymore. Now, he was worried.


	2. No Spill Blood

**Ed, Edd n Eddy belong to Danny Antonucci.**

**To those of you who reviewed, faved and/or followed this story of mine, I cannot express in word just how grateful I am, and how much I appreaciate you. Truly, thank you. If you want, follow me on tumblr: empanadadepizza. tumblr. com  
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Morning finally broke. With the rising sun had come confusion and a good deal of pain for quite a few members of the cul-de-sac motley crew. Kevin had barely slept, and was feeling drained and groggy. He had taken to watching Edd's fretful sleep from outside of the van. Thankfully he had Rolf to keep him company the night before. Once the light of the sun coming in from the horizon finally broke through the trees, only then did Rolf feel it was safe enough to extinguish the fire.

Surprisingly, Ed was the first one awake. He did a quick check of everyone, and once he was pleased with the headcount, he began helping Rolf in packing everything up. Jimmy was next to rise, followed by Nazz. Kevin couldn't help but noticed she looked like she had just as much sleep as he did.

Sarah and Eddy were the last to wake, with the exception of Edd in the van. Ed went to go check up on him, his concern for his brainy friend coming in full force when he heard Edd cry out.

Edd, for his part, tried not to bring too much attention to himself. He felt the van move with the extra weight, but couldn't see who it was causing it, his eyes squeezed tightly as he breathed in and out, forcing himself to calm down.

"Double D?" Ed's concerned voice rang in his ears.

"Y-yes, Ed?"

"Do you need medicine?"

Letting out a shuddering breath, Edd nodded. "I think I may need to go to the hospital eventually, as well." He opened his eyes and lifted his _filthy, filthy, filthy_ shirt. He'd bled through bandaging he'd done last night, and there was deep bruising along is abdomen. The way the car had impacted with the tree caused a low branch to smash right through the driver side window, directly into his gut. His eyes widened when he remembered. "Ed! My car! How on earth am I going to get it home?"

Eddy saved him the trouble. He jumped into the van, leaning on the back of the seat to look directly at Edd. "I just checked. It's pretty banged up. But, it still turns on. I just spoke with Shovelchin, and he said he could tow it back to the cul-de-sac. Someone just needs to be in the driver seat while it's on neutral."

Edd let out a sigh of relief. If he could get his car home, he could then get the insurance company to take a look at it and begin assessing the damage.

"Thank you, Eddy."

Eddy shrugged. "I figured you'd have a titty attack about your car. Beside," he added with a smirk, "one, you're in no condition to even sit up, so I'll be the one behind the wheel. And two, I get a ride home without having to listen to Shovelchin bitch the whole time."

While the offer of Eddy to steer Edd's car home didn't quite sit well with him, as Eddy was a notoriously unsafe driver, Edd did have to agree that he was in condition to man the vehicle himself. And Eddy wasn't driving, not really. Kevin would be doing all the brunt work. Eddy was just a backseat driver, in more ways than one.

The three Eds watched as their friends moved around the makeshift campsite. Eddy had a bored look on his face. He'd done his part, now all he was waiting for was a change to get out of this dump. Ed was glaring at Jimmy. He had his arms around Sarah, and Ed wasn't sure how he felt about that. Jimmy was a good enough kid, he supposed. But Sarah was his baby sister, and fuck Jimmy for ever thinking he was good enough for her. Edd was looking at Rolf and Kevin speaking. In the daylight, the cuts they'd received stood out more prominently. It bothered Edd to see any of his friends hurt. But to see Kevin hurt was a different type of pain altogether.

He had no idea what he must look like to Kevin right then.

Slowly, Edd tried moving, masking his winces. Both Ed and Eddy were immediately trying to get him to sit back down, lest he do more damage to himself.

"No, Double D, just stay there," Ed practically pleaded. He held out his hands, as though he were going to push Edd down if he needed to, but he refused to actually touch the younger Ed, for fear of hurting him himself.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Eddy questioned with typical aplomb. The words were harsh, but the concern in his eyes was hard to mask.

Edd huffed in annoyance. "Gentlemen, please! I need to at least stretch out my muscles!"

Eddy turned to Ed. "Carry him, Lumpy."

"No more carrying!" Edd groaned. It was for naught, as Ed grabbed him, very carefully, and helped him out of the van. Everyone watched as Edd was lowered to the ground. Standing on his own two feet for the first time in nearly 12 hours, Edd felt as though he could burst into tears of happiness. He gingerly took a few steps. There was pain, of that there was no doubt. But it wasn't as severe as the night before.

He made his way to where Nazz was sitting. She seemed out of it, her eyes not focused on anything in particular. Edd placed a concerned hand on her shoulder. The move seemed to shock her out of her thoughts.

"Are you alright, Nazz?" he asked gently.

She let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I think so. I'm just… ugh…. Kinda nauseous. Last night was so scary, and weird! And, dude, why are you asking anybody if they're alright? Look at you! You got into a nasty accident!"

Edd chuckled. "To curtail your concern, I am alright as well. Believe me, I received plenty of attention last night." Edd jumped when a pair of cool arms wrapped around him. Nazz smiled.

"Who the fuck do I need to pound for giving you all that attention?" Kevin said directly into his ear. Kevin arranged himself behind Edd.

Edd wished so badly that his stomach didn't hurt as much as it did so he could turn around to embrace Kevin. Instead, he placed his hands on Kevin's arms, pulling him closer, humming contently.

Nazz stood up, brushing off her pants. "I'm gonna go see if the guys need any help with anything." She left the two alone, making her way over to Eddy.

Edd and Kevin sat in silence for a brief moment, watching as Eddy and Nazz chatted while picking up. Kevin sighed, his arms hanging from Edd's shoulders.

"How are you actually doing?" Kevin asked, his voice both soft and concerned.

"As I was telling Nazz not too long ago, I'm alright. Nothing fatal. I do, however, need to seek professional medical attention to rid myself of this shard of glass." Edd moved his hands down to grasp Kevin's. He frowned at the temperature. "How are you fairing? I wasn't the only one injured last night, and your hands are absolute ice."

"I'm confused as fuck. I just need to go home, take a long, hot shower and decompress. It sucks that our trip has to be canceled."

"Perhaps. But this may be for the best. I realized last night that I may not be the best suited for camping."

Kevin kissed the side of Edd's head, snorting. "No. You really aren't."

"It would really put me at ease if you were to get checked by a doctor." Edd squeezed Kevin's hand. "This type of body temperature has me greatly concerned. Not to mention the pallor of your skin. Nazz and Rolf as well. I fear…"

He was cut off, again, when Kevin pulled him backwards and kissing him. This was Kevin's favorite way of getting Edd to stop talking. And while it was annoying to be constantly interrupted, Edd could at least admit to himself that there were far worse ways for it to happen.

It was unfortunate that this kiss wasn't enjoyed as much as previous ones due to the coldness of Kevin's skin against Edd's. It only increased his worry.

"Ugh! Are you fucking joking right now?" Eddy yelled. "Hey, dipshits! We're waiting for you two to head home! If you could stop eating each other, that would be fantastic!"

Kevin pulled away from Edd, and shivered at Eddy's choice of words. "_Eating each other…"_ Just the mention of it brought to mind his body's reaction to licking Edd's blood from his fingers.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Edd asked.

Kevin nodded, standing up carefully to not knock Edd over. "Yeah, fine. Fuckface is right, though." Edd groaned at the unfortunate nickname. "We should be heading out." Kevin helped Edd to his feet, and the couple slowly walked back to the van.

It was a little bit after four o'clock in the afternoon when Edd was finally able to relax at home. When they reached the highway, signal was returned to their phones, allowing Edd to make the necessary phone calls to ensure that everything he needed to get done happened in a timely manner.

The tow truck was at his house not even ten minutes after his car was placed in his driveway. Once that was taken care of, and he was positive that Kevin was listening to him and resting, he was driven to the emergency room by Eddy. While he would have preferred and urgent care center, or even the hospital itself, Eddy felt it was an emergency, so Edd didn't bother arguing. His head was pounding and he was ill-tempered by the time they arrived.

After a local anesthetic was applied, the glass was removed. He was given specific instructions about care and cleanliness, given a prescription for painkillers, and sent on his way. He dreaded thinking about what that would end up costing him.

After being dropped off at home and practically kicking Eddy out, and promising that if anything should happen, he would call, Edd was practically dragging himself up the flight of stairs. He passed the answering machine in the hallway before the bathroom. While most would think such a device was archaic, Edd knew his parents kept it for important calls. He considered calling his parents, to inform them of what had transpired, but he knew he shouldn't even waste his time. They barely gave him the time of day as a child, why would they care if he was injured as an adult?

Finally reaching his destination, Edd grabbed his supplies, and locked himself in the bathroom for a much needed shower.

Half an hour later, he emerged smiling. There was nothing like a nice refreshing shower to make one feel better. With nothing left to do, he made his way to his bedroom. It was early yet, but the events of the previous night, his concern for his friends, and the medication he was on made Edd extremely tired. He lay down, and slept.

Edd slept quite well. In fact, had it not been for Eddy barging into his bedroom, Edd would still be asleep peacefully. He watched as his best friend frantically paced his room for a few minutes, wide eyed and hand trembling.

"Eddy, Eddy! Please, slow down! What happened?" Edd tried, sitting up slowly. Yup. Still hurting. He turned to look at his clock. It was nearly noon. He must have been more exhausted than he realized.

Eddy continued looking out the window, wringing his hands. "Double D, someone was in my house, like super early in the morning and tried to kill me!"

"Kill you? Whatever on earth do you mean?"

"Someone broke into my house last night! It was like three or four in the morning, but nobody heard anything. I was asleep, and then next thing I know, there was someone on top of me, grabbing my neck!"

Edd listened to Eddy's story, worry for his friend growing with each word spoken. He could see the marks on Eddy's body, not just his neck, from where he tried fighting back.

"Have the authorities been informed?"

Eddy nodded. "Yeah, the police just left." Throwing himself into the computer chair, Eddy dropped his head onto the desk, groaning loudly. "I don't know what the fuck that was all about, but I had never been more scared in my whole fucking life. Double D, its eyes were glowing red! And don't tell me 'it was all just a nightmare, Eddy.' I already got that shit from my family."

"I wasn't going to," Edd assured him. "But…now what?"

Both jumped at the sound of the front door slamming shut. Edd got out of bed, and walked to the door. Ed ran up the stairs, two at a time.

"Eddy!" he cried out. "Double D! Where is Eddy? Is he here?"

Eddy sat up from the desk. "I'm here, Ed. What?"

"I saw the police leaving your house. Is everything ok?"

"Someone tried breaking into my house. And then tried to kill me."

Ed entered Edd's room, sitting on the bed. Edd folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the door jam. "Were the police able to locate anything to possibly identify the suspects?"

Eddy shook his head. "No. And I don't think they're gonna be a lot of help anyway cause they don't seem to believe me."

"Well, then," Edd said, walking downstairs, "we're just going to have to check it out ourselves." Ed and Eddy followed him as he moved around the kitchen.

"What are you talking about?" Eddy asked. Both he and Ed sat down at the kitchen table, watching Edd take his various pain medications.

Edd swallowed the last pill, and placed the glass on the counter. "Well, if the authorities aren't going to take you seriously, than perhaps we should take matters into our own hands."

"That's great, but should you be doing anything? I mean, with your stomach thing," Eddy eyed Edd's multiple prescriptions.

"Nonsense," Edd said, putting the medications back in the cabinets. He leaned his back again the counter, facing the other two Eds. "We simply need to look through everything and go over what the police might have missed."

Eddy leaned back in his chair, a frustrated look on his face. "And what exactly are you expecting to find?"

Edd shook his head. "I don't know. Anything to prove you right."

Ed stayed silent through all of this, frowning. His attention was drawn to the marks all over Eddy. They were very similar to the ones sported by Kevin, Rolf and Nazz.

"Then I guess we should get going."

The three made their way over to Eddy's house. The house was completely silent, as once the police had left, Eddy's parents did as well.

The trio made their way around the back of the house, each looking apprehensive as they slowly made their way inside. Edd made sure to look around the backyard, searching for any clue as to who tried to break into the house.

They stopped at the back door. The glass was broken and scattered on the floor. Edd placed a hand on Eddy's shoulder. Neither said anything as Edd went to the door.

"Be careful, Double D," Ed said.

Edd merely nodded. He pulled the door open, the glass cracking underneath his sneakers. He walked into the room, looking around.

"The cops took pictures of this, and that's about it," Eddy said, leading them towards his room.

Edd paused, noticing a piece of torn fabric among the glass. "How on earth do the police miss such an important piece of evidence?" Grabbing one of the storage bags from his jacket, Edd grabbed the fabric with a pair of tweezers and placed the bag back in his pocket. Eddy shrugged, staring as Edd continued to scour the room. "I honestly believe the authorities were quite derelict in their search of your house. How on earth could they miss such an obvious clue?"

They got to Eddy's room, which was disheveled and in tatters. While the room was generally not known for being immaculate in any sense of the word, what Ed and Edd found was something different altogether. The bed sheets were torn from the bed, quite literally in half. The various objects that Eddy used to decorate were strewn about the floor, some broken. Edd looked at the room in horror, amazed at the degree of damage meted. Eddy's face held no emotion as his room was searched.

Ed was looking at the scratches along Eddy's neck, an idea coming to him. "What if we were followed home?" he asked.

Edd and Eddy both turned to the tallest Ed.

"What are you talking about, Ed?" Eddy asked. Ed walked up to him, placing his hand on one of the cuts.

"This looks like the cuts Nazz and Rolf have. What if whatever attacked them in the woods came home with us?"

Edd contemplated this. He didn't want to think about it, but that argument made sense. When they were stranded in the woods, they were attacked in darkness. Eddy was attacked around 3 in the morning, the darkest time at night.

"Eddy," Edd said, now worried. "I think Ed has a valid point."

Ed nodded frantically as Eddy slapped his hands away. "Think about it, Eddy! We're in the woods, a creature comes out of nowhere and hurts people. We come home, and a creature comes out of nowhere and hurts people the same way!"

Eddy groaned, sitting down. "Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that that you're right, Lumpy." He really hoped Ed wasn't right. "Let's say this…thing followed home. Why the fuck would it come after me?"

"Obviously it took to your charm and overwhelming innocence," Edd said dryly. Ed laughed. Eddy glared at him. Edd just quirked an eyebrow, and continued searching the room.

The Eds spent hours going through each and every corner of Eddy's house, collecting various objects for Edd to examine later on. After a few hours, Edd had quite a few storage bags full of missed evidence. By the time they were done, it was nearing 8:30 at night.

When he noticed the encroaching darkness outside, Edd finally decided to call it quits.

"It only makes sense that we end part ways and reconvene tomorrow so that I can go over what I've already gathered," Edd explained.

Eddy ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I guess. Not like we can do anything else now anyway."

Edd turned to Eddy, placing both hands on the shorter Ed's shoulders. "We will get to the bottom of this, I can assure you."

"Thanks, Double D."

He patted Eddy's shoulders, offering him a smile. Ed and Edd bid Eddy a good night, leaving Eddy's house together. Ed paused, turning to look at Eddy's house, the rare look of seriousness on his face.

"What is it, Ed?" Edd answered in concern. Despite everything else, he couldn't help but worry about Ed as well. Since the failed camping trip, he'd been more introspective and cautious. Edd wasn't used or comfortable with this quiet version of Ed. He made a mental note to make sure that he'd keep an eye on Ed as well as help Eddy figure out what was going on.

Ed looked down at Edd.

Edd has grown quite a bit since their childhood, standing at a respectable 5' 11". But Ed was always taller, and that hadn't changed. So at 6' 5", he towered over everyone. It almost broke Edd's heart to see his happy-go-lucky friend look so worried and upset. He placed a hand on Ed's arm. A small, but not overlooked comfort.

Shaking his head, Ed let out a somber sigh, before turning away from the house.

"It'll be alright, Ed," Edd said. "We'll figure this out."

Ed nodded once, the smile returning to his face. He tugged on Edd's hat, laughing when Edd tried to swat his hand away. "I'm glad you're home, Double D."

"I'm glad, too," Edd smiled. The two began walking away from Eddy's house.

"With you being away at school, it gets lonely here sometimes."

"But you still have Eddy, don't you?"

"Yeah, but we are supposed to be the Three Amigos, peanut butter, jelly and cheese, blah, blah, and blah."

Edd couldn't help the burst of laughter that came from Ed's proclamation. "Oh, dear! Ed, please don't make me laugh too much!" he said, holding his stomach as he bent over in laughter.

Ed looked slightly panicked. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Double D! I didn't mean to make your hurt…um….hurt?"

Edd felt the laughter receding into chuckles. With a sigh, he straightened himself, wiping away the tears that fell. "Goodness, Ed. I have truly missed being around you."

Ed smiled. "It just sucks that you got really hurt."

"I suppose it does," Edd shrugged. "But, they say laughter is the best medicine, and being home for the summer will certainly refill any prescription I need." Ed shook his head, the smile on his face clearly indicating he had no idea what Edd was talking about.

The duo continued on, taking their time to get home. As they were walking closer to Ed's house, Edd noticed Kevin sitting against his own house, deep in thought. He stopped walking, just staring at the redhead from far away.

Ed noticed the other's lack of attention, and looked in the direction he was. He broke into a grin, poking Edd's cheek. "You love him, don't you?"

Pushing Ed's finger from his face, Edd smiled shyly. "Yes, I'm afraid. I really do."

"Aw! Is it because he's good to you?"

Edd chuckled, shaking his head at Ed's antics. "Yes, Ed. I love him because he's good to me."

Ed's face became serious again. "Good. Because otherwise I would have to punch him."

"You already did, remember? When he and I had our first fight? You punched him in the face. If I recall correctly, that's the day you called me your 'little brother'."

Ed smiled fondly at the shorter one. "That's cause you are my little brother. Kinda like how Sarah is my baby sister."

These comments were why he loved Ed. Because Ed spoke from the heart.

"Thank you, Ed. You, too, are my brother." Blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall, Edd smiled back. Being an only child, these words meant more to Edd than the other would ever truly understand. Both he and Eddy were the family Edd lacked as a child. They were his brothers.

"Do you know what I love, Double D?" Ed continued, unaware of the glass case of emotion he'd placed his friend in. "Chickens."

Edd's giggle, his hand covering his mouth. He was half expecting that answer. Incidentally enough, they found themselves in front of Rolf's house. The son of a shepherd was feeding Wilfred. At almost nine o'clock at night, which Edd found strange. Then again, most things that Rolf did seemed strange to him.

"How fortuitous."

Ed gasped, running to the fence. Suddenly realizing he was leaving Edd behind, he turned and yelled "Go be with your man! Do you, booboo!"

Edd shook his head at Ed's words. He waved at his friend, watching him harassing Rolf about chickens. He began crossing the street, heading towards Kevin's house.

He would stop by the redhead for a brief moment before heading home. He was well due for another dose of medicine. And his bandages were itching. He'd been scratching it all day, so they were going to need to be changed. He was needed another shower, too.

He walked slowly, the discomfort in his stomach making his normally quick gait sluggish. It didn't really bother him as much as he thought it would have, as it gave him plenty of time to think, which wasn't such a bad deal.

Edd carefully walked up to Kevin, who was sitting against the side of his house. Placing a hand on his hip, Edd smiled down at Kevin.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Kevin smirked, still looking at the ground. "And here I thought I was worth more than that to you."

"My apologies," Edd laughed. "Allow me to correct my previous statement. Quarter for your thoughts?"

"That's what I'm talking about." Kevin patted the ground next to him. "Wanna sit?"

"You are aware that grass is filthy, yes? I'll be much more comfortable standing," Edd said, scratching at his stomach yet again.

"How is that, by the way?" Kevin nodded to Edd's stomach. "Were you finally able to see a doctor?"

Edd nodded, lifting his shirt a bit. "Indeed. Aside from some bruising, and obviously the bandages, I seem to be doing quite alright."

Kevin sat up a bit, his hand hovering over Edd's bandage. "May I?"

"Of course."

Moving to rest on his knees, Kevin carefully pulled the bandage off. He inspected the wound from where the glass had pierced the skin. There was scarring from where the doctors had taken it out. The skin was slightly raised, and swollen. Leaning in, he placed a light kiss on the wound. Edd gasped at the feeling of Kevin's lips. Like his hands a few days ago, they were frozen.

"My poor baby," Kevin said, half-mockingly, knowing Edd wasn't fond of the term, but never moving from Edd's stomach. Instead he leaned in again, kissing his wound again.

"K-Kevin, please! We're in public!" Edd cried out. He jumped when Kevin ran his tongue along the wound. He brought his hands down, trying to push the redhead away, but still Kevin continued. "Kevin, Kevin, stop."

Kevin looked up, his eyes catching Edd's, before he ran his tongue along the wound once more.

"Kevin! We are steps from your bedroom- a-ah! If you want to proceed!"

For some odd reason, with each lick, Edd began to feel his skin tingle. His hands, which seconds ago were trying to push Kevin's face away from his person, were now resting on his head, allowing him to continue whatever he was doing with his tongue. Edd let out a shuddering breath as his body slowly grew numb.

He found his back pressed against the wall, and Kevin's body pressed against his. He closed his eyes as Kevin pulled him in, their mouths practically fusing together. He brought his arms up, trying to pull Kevin in closer, but all Edd could manage was to rest them on the shorter man's shoulders.

Kevin leaned against Edd, rubbing his body along the others. Edd pulled from the kiss, panting against Kevin's mouth.

"Kevin," he whined, as Kevin slowly began grinding his hips against Edd's. "Please…" He didn't know anymore if he was asking Kevin to stop, or begging him to go on. As a strange, hazy feeling steadily flowed through him, he realized he didn't care either way.

Kevin lifted Edd, pressing his back against the side of his house, wrapping Edd's legs around his waist. Edd was taller than Kevin, by at least four inches, but Kevin was much stronger than Edd.

"Fuck," Kevin groaned. "Dee, you smell so fucking good…" He kissed and sucked on Edd's neck.

With what little amount of control he had, Edd leaned down, capturing Kevin's mouth for another searing kiss.

_Surrender._

Edd gasped, pulling away from the kiss. "What?" He looked around frantically, trying to locate the source of the voice he'd just heard. Kevin kissed him again, their tongues tangling. Edd shivered. His body was going into overdrive between the intensity of their kisses, the way Kevin's hips moved perfectly against his own, the feel of the cool skin against his flushed body. He felt his eyes rolling into the back of his head at the sensations.

He and Kevin had had sex before. It had never felt anything like this.

_Surrender._

Kevin broke away, trailing kisses along Edd's face, down to his neck. He never stopped moving his hips, the sound of Edd's moans ever so encouraging. He smirked as his nipped at Edd's neck.

Edd couldn't think. He subconsciously knew something strange was going on for he and Kevin to be behaving as they were. But as their bodies moved together, and he grew weaker against Kevin's body, he couldn't have stopped even if he wanted to.

_**Surrender.**_

And Edd _really _didn't want to.

Kevin kissed and sucked on Edd's neck.

Their eyes met, both half-lidded, filled with unbridled lust. Dark green locked onto red, and Edd felt the last of his resolve slip.

_**SURRENDER.**_

"_Yes_," Edd moaned, tilting his head to the side. Kevin's teeth sank into his flesh, and his hips bucked against the redhead's, his release overwhelming him, his eyes fluttering closed. Beneath him, he could feel Kevin's own release. Edd nearly collapsed against Kevin, his body and mind no longer cooperating.

"DEMON KEVIN-BOY, NO!"

Edd immediately dropped to the floor, unaware of what was going on around him. He lay on the grass, the fog slowly lifting from his mind. He could hear a scuffle in the background, but couldn't make out the voices. He tried sitting up, but found his body still wouldn't listen to him.

He heard heavy footsteps, and opened his eyes.

"E-Ed?" he called out softly. Why was his voice so weak?

Ed let out a worried sound from the back of his throat. He kneeled in front of Edd, and helped him sit up. Once he was satisfied the other wouldn't topple over, he bent down, picking him up bridal style.

"Ed-boy, get him home!" Rolf cried.

Things were starting to come back into focus. Edd saw Rolf struggling to hold back Kevin. Kevin, for his part, was fighting against Rolf with everything he had. He'd managed to get an arm out from underneath the foreigner, only to be apprehended again.

Edd couldn't help but stare at the blood covering Kevin's mouth.

"ED-BOY! NOW!"

Ed snapped out of whatever daze he seemed to be in. Quickly, he ran towards Edd's house. Without letting go of his friend, Ed managed to get the door open, get them inside, and have the door locked once they were safe indoors. Ed sat Edd on the couch.

It was only when he was no longer being supported that Edd realized how badly he was shaking. He watched Ed go into the kitchen, and then come back with a wet paper towel. He made not a sound as Ed cleaned the bite mark…

…that Kevin had made.

"Good lord. What the hell just happened?"


End file.
